From a long time ago, but I just figured out how to post as a new blog, rather than a comment!
After talking today in class about what forms of recreation in the national parks are intrinsically better than another it got me thinking of a personal story from this past summer, that I included in my Mill v. Sax Paper, but I think everyone might find it interesting:
"In defense of Sax’s position that the parks should be kept as natural as possible, I recall a personal anecdote from my family trip to Alaska this past summer. Denali National Park is a six million acre preserve originally set aside as a national park in 1917. Set in the heart of Alaska, Denali is a majestic park that I have always been enthralled with since I was a young child. To me, it seemed as though Denali was one of America’s last great wildernesses; a place where grizzly bears and moose far outnumbered people. All this set against the backdrop of Mount McKinley, the highest, and perhaps most spectacular peak in North America. Denali was one of the last places my family visited on our two-week trip to Alaska and I was effervescent with anticipation until the moment we arrived there.
Our tour bus pulled up to the Princess™ “Wilderness” Lodge right outside of the park boundary and I was appalled at what I saw. This “wilderness” lodge was more like a Disneyworld resort, packed full of tourists who seemed as though they had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the middle of Alaska. Across the street from the resort there was a “scenic” cable car ride that took you to the top of a nearby mountain, as well as a strip mall crammed with restaurants, souvenir shops and even a Harley Davidson Motorcycle outlet! The physical and symbolic scar that was left on this landscape by human development was palpable. It felt like a bad dream, all my life I had envisioned Denali as an unspoiled, expansive wilderness, and here I was, standing outside a McDonald’s only feet from the Denali park border. I was dejected. Technically, this development was allowed because it was mere feet outside of the park’s borders, but that didn’t change my opinion of it. The over-development of such a wonderful natural area detracted from my personal experience while visiting the park."
Any thoughts or comments?
-Matt
1 comment:
It is funny that you mention Denali. When I was in Denali my mom and I camped out in the middle of nowhere, didn't see people for three days, and emerged off of a mountain looking so tattered the bus driver asked if we needed medical assistance. For us, Denali was the ideal of the wilderness experience. And yet, when we were tired of our foray into "the sublime" and in need of a bed and shower, it was there outside of the park. There was something nice about coming back to civilization as represented by McDonald's and Fred Krogers ( or whatever that obscenely large supermarket meet Costco meet Barnes and Nobles meet Sears store was called).
I think that the National Parks System allows us to visit with nature in a manageable way. While the excesses of the Princess Resort are undoubtedly astounding, it is still out of the park. And, however arbitrary it might seem, we need to create a boundary system that delineates nature and civilization because if we didn't, nature would be mediated all too frequently by the Golden Arches and we wouldn't get to experience those autotelic activity that Sax raves about.
Post a Comment